Biggest Dental Concerns as You Age

As you age, health concerns can become more frequent and alarming. Though dental issues seem to be the last worry on your mind, many of these common dental concerns can seriously affect your health. Issues such as tooth decay, dry mouth, gum disease and even oral cancer are very common in adults over the age of 60.

Even though you never got a cavity when you were younger, as we age, we enter a second wave of cavity prone years. You can get cavities on the surface of your teeth where you’ve never had them before, or you can get them around old fillings and the root of your tooth. Additionally, the root of your tooth can become softer and more exposed leaving it vulnerable to new cavities.

Saliva in our mouths helps protect teeth from tooth decay. Dry mouth is a very common dental concern as you age leaving some individuals prone to tooth decay. An easy fix for this issue if you believe you suffer from dry mouth is to try and stimulate saliva production by chewing sugar-free gum, or just sip water throughout the day.

According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, more than 43,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer in 2017. Only half of those diagnosed with oral cancer survive the disease. The best way to increase your chances of being on the winning side of this battle is early diagnosis. Coming in for a checkup is even more important for older adults to check and treat these common and concerning issues.